Balance-gate for flumes in water-power



UNTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANL. ROBINSON, OF LENOXVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA..

BALANCE-GATE FOR FLUMES IN WATER-POWER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 15,256, dated July 1, 1856.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, DANIEL ROBINSON, of Lenoxville, in the county ofSusquehanna and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Sliding Gates for the Penstocks and Flumes ofVater-Mills; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full,clear, and eXact description of the same, reference being had I0 to theannexed drawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figurel, is a longitudinal vertical section of a penstock with my improvementapplied to it, (m), Fig. 3, shows the plane of section. Fig. 2, is atransverse vertical section of the same, (y), (y), Fig. l, showing theplane of section. Fig. 3, is a horizontal section of the same, (a), (e),Fig. 2, showing the plane of section.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

My invention consists in having a gate at each side of the penstock, andhaving the two gates connected by cross bars, so that the pressure ofthe water on one gate will be neutralized by the pressure on the other.

The penstock is provided with a tube and valve arranged, as will bepresently shown and described, to prevent the penstock from beingrupturedA or broken by the sudden force or pressure of the water whenentering it, Y

To enable those skilled in the art, to fully understand and construct myinvention, I

will proceed to describe'it.

A, represents a penstock, or portion of a Hume, which is placed within apond or reservoir of water. The sides of the penstock have opening (a),made through 4@ them, said openings being of rectangular form, andconsiderably higher than they are broad, as sho-wn in Fig. l. Any propernumber of openings may be made in the sides of the penstock.

To each side of the penstock there is attached a gate B. These gateshave openings, (b), made through them, said openings corresponding insize to the openings, (a), in the sides of the penstock. The gat-es B,are allowed to slide at the sides of the .y penstock, so that theopenings, (la), may be brought in line with the openings, (a), or bethrown out of line with them. When the openings are out of line witheach other,

the gates are closed, and when they are iny line with each other, thegates are open. The two gates B, B, are connected ley-cross` bars, (c),at their upper and lower endsaas A shown 1n Fig. l, and by dotted linesin Fig. 2. The cross bars cause the two gates to move or slidesimultaneously, and they also prevent friction as the gates arel.operated by the pressure of the water against'i'them.

The water is let into the penstockwor fltune when the gates are open,through the openings, (a) (5), asshown by the arrows in Fig. 3, and whenthe gates are closed, the openings (Z1) in the gates will be oppositethe spaces between the openings, (a), in the; sides of the penstock. Ifthe gates were not conneotedby the bars, (c), they would be subjected toconsiderable pressure by the head of water, and consequentlyconsiderable power would be required to operate them, but as they areconnected by the bars, (c), the pressure exerted against one gate isneutralized or counteracted by the pressure on the other gate, and thegates are consequently balanced, and may be operated, or opened andclosed with the greatest facility, and with but little power.

C, represents a vertical tube, which is inserted in the upper part ofthe penstock. This tube extends upward above the surface of the water,and has a valve, (ci), at its lower end,`said valve opening downward.This valve is closed by the water when the gates are opened, and thewater enters the penstock or flume, and when the gates are closed, andthe water passes out of the penstock or flume, the air will rush downthe tube, open the valve, and enter the penstock, which, being thussupplied with air, is prevented from beingruptured or broken by thewater suddenly rushing into it, when the gates are opened.

The valve prevents the water from ascending into the tube, which wouldotherwise be the case were no valve employed, and the tube wouldbeiliable to be broken or bursted,

in consequence of the water freezing within l Having thus described myinvention, 2. I further claim the tube C, and valve, what I claim asnew, and desire to secure (al), applied to the penstock, as shown, forby Letters Patent, is, the purpose speced,

l. The two sliding gates B, B, placed aft DANIEL ROBINSON.

5 opposite sides of the penstoek A, and con- Witnesses:

nected by bars, (c), substantially as shown, ISAAC M. DOUD, for thepurpose specified. JOHN D. FARNUM.

